Hinkle needs to step down

If Phil Hinkle were not entrusted with enacting laws under which his fellow Hoosiers must live, it might be possible to overlook the sordid episode that recently vaulted him into the headlines and his problematic account of the what and why.

But the veteran state legislator knows he cannot serve without the confidence of his constituents and his colleagues. And he has forfeited that trust, regardless of which angle one chooses for viewing his encounter with an 18-year-old stranger seeking a "sugga daddy."

Hinkle has admitted to paying the man $80 for a good time and taking him to a hotel room, but denies that he is homosexual, that he exposed himself and that he bribed the man to keep quiet. He says the man and his sister stole the cash and other items they're calling a payoff. He hasn't gone to the police and neither has anyone else.

Whichever version wins the duel, it is hard to conceive of a reassuring explanation for a 64-year-old public figure's entanglement in such a scenario, one he arranged using his publically listed email address. In his comments to The Star's Matthew Tully and Alex Campbell, Hinkle said he behaved wrongly, has no idea why he did so, and is seeking professional help "to know what upstairs in my brain went off that sent me down a road of self-destruction."

That is grounds for sympathy. It also fortifies the case for his stepping aside from a complex, highly consequential job.

His fellow Republican, Indiana House Speaker Brian Bosma, was right to call for Hinkle's resignation. As of Wednesday, Hinkle was holding fast, saying he would not seek re-election in 2012 but would finish his current term. At the same time, he said he accepted the stripping away of his committee chairmanships. One more disconnect.

Hinkle argues that he broke no law. That is debatable. And at the least, he certainly brushed the edge of illegality, risking his reputation, credibility and effectiveness as a lawmaker in the process. Whatever forces made him do it, he gambled what he could not afford to lose, and he lost. He should call an end to the damage he has inflicted on himself, his family and his constituents, and step aside.

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Hinkle needs to step down

If Phil Hinkle were not entrusted with enacting laws under which his fellow Hoosiers must live, it might be possible to overlook the sordid episode that recently vaulted him into the headlines and